As a leader, you often need to establish a rapport with others, to connect with them. It might be when you meet new people in an office or when you give a presentation or a talk. In each case, the other people will want to know who you are and what you stand for. They […]

Tags: Airport, hard work, initiative, rags to riches Steve Crompton shares an inspiring, real-life rags to riches story, which proves that anyone can make a difference and achieve their dreams if they take the initiative and are willing to work hard to make it happen.  Anecdotally Speaking is back! We’ve taken a short hiatus while […]

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a compelling story and I’ve come up with a shortlist. Safe to say, if you’ve found a story which has all, or most, of the following characteristics, it’s a great one to add to your story bank.   1. Something Unanticipated When I first started thinking […]

Tags: trust, connections, relationships, messaging, American revolution, British, Concord It’s not what you know, but who knows you and trusts what you say! Looking after your business connections is important for maintaining communications, especially for your ‘news feed’. But does your attention to the news depend on the messenger? In today’s story, we contrast the […]

Tags: Curiosity, insight, soccer Today’s episode illustrates the importance of not just noticing a pattern of excellence, but working out why it happens. Sometimes this means jumping in and talking to customers. It’s so easy to become disconnected as you become more senior in a company. It seems like the guys at Apple are combating […]

Tags: Data, patterns, decisions Bringing your data to life is crucial in making others understand why it’s important. In this example, we hear how John Snow had to be creative and clear with his data to prove his theory right. If you work with data, this story is particularly useful for you. While we disagree […]

Tags: Decision-making, profit, turnover What do you do when you have high turnover? Henry Ford’s solution made his shareholders angry. In this example, we see how Henry Ford ignored what everyone around him thought and went ahead with a decision that would more than double his profit. We discuss how this is a great example […]

Warning: This article contains explicit language. Do not read if you might be offended. Have you ever had the feeling that you and your colleagues are all on the same page, and you feel good about how everyone understands what’s happening? I had an experience last week that illustrates just how illusory that feeling can […]

Tags: Curse of knowledge, bigger picture, insight When people don’t understand what we’re trying to convey to them we get frustrated. Sometimes we wonder why they aren’t getting something so simple. This is called the curse of knowledge. This week’s story is my favourite type – a scientific experiment story. It’s about Elizabeth Newton, a Stanford […]

Tags: Life and death, bravery, taking care of others An important part of leadership is taking care of your team. This story is a beautiful example of how taking care of others and helping them through tough times is beneficial for everyone. The focus of this story is U2 at their 1986 Tempe concert, and […]